UPDATE: Review and photos of the Jaw Horse in my shed are now available here and here

There appears to be a significant increase in popularity recently in the JawHorse, and from looking at the Rockwell website, my guess is that a. it is now being advertised on TV in the states, and through the Infomercial channels, and b. it is not being sold in shops and can only be purchased online.

I’ve been looking to contact the manufacturer to see if they’d be interested in having their product independently covered in a more comprehensive Stu’s Shed review, but there appears to be no email address readily available, and I’m not planning on ringing the States (yet). (If anyone wants to give them a head-up….. 😉 – To find me, all they have to do is Google JawHorse, and click on the first (non-animal) link!)

If it is assuring to anyone who has come here to get some more background on this tool before making a purchase, I can say that it is based on a tool here called the Superjaws, which is a brilliant machine, and does everything I ask of it – strength, clamping pressure, longevity, stability, quality. (I have 3 or 4 of them now – loose count!)

I have not seen a JawHorse in the flesh (so to speak), but so long as it is manufactured to the same level of quality as the Superjaws, it will definitely do the job! Of course, you could always just buy a Superjaws, but I don’t think they are sold in the same markets, so there isn’t a direct conflict there (yet).

UPDATE: Review and photos of the Jaw Horse in my shed are now available here and here

As seen on TV, this heavy-duty hands-free clamp not only secures workpieces with a rock-solid grip, its wide stable frame instantly provides a go-anywhere workstation to make cuts, drill holes, and more. Hold and cut doors, two-by-fours, two-by-twelves, and odd-shaped objects. Mount miter saws, tile saws, grinders and other tools to wood panels and use the Jawhorse as a sturdy stand. Clamp in a vertical support piece and install crown molding all by yourself.

Do it all and more with this incredibly versatile tool that also folds up for simple storage and transportation.

I hope you don’t mind me writing about the Jawhorse. I have been using it for several projects. Since the Rockwell web site has no customer service email, I would like to make some detailed comments about this product that perhaps you can pass on to your co-workers, managers, friends, etc. This product has several pro’s and cons, and here they are, straight from an avid woodworker.

The Pros: very versatile, very stable, excellent design, most of it is very solidly built, and it is portable, and very useful for a wide range of projects. But here are the cons. There are 4 key parts in the design that are made of plastic. Three of these 4 parts are also “moving” parts, so the claims on the infomercial and other adds for this product that say “no moving plastic parts to replace” and “all steel construction”, are simply not true.

First, lets start with the roller, which is used for rolling the product across a surface as one of the transport methods (using the rear leg as a handle). This part is made of hollow plastic. Instead, it should be made of solid, hardened rubber (the same kind of material used to make industrial, swiveling coaster wheels) to increase durability.

The second part is the yellow latch in front. It is made of plastic, and it sticks out enough to where it could be easily hit and broken (especially by contractors, and when being transported while folded up).

The third one is the end cap which is fastened at the end of the rear leg, and makes contact with the ground during use. Instead of plastic, this should be made of rubber, just like the rubber pads at the end of the front legs.

The fourth part, and most important, is the swiveling brace assembly and tightening nut that holds the rear leg in position. This is definitely the weak link in this product. Either this part, or the latch in front, will be the first parts to be broken on this unit.

Other cons of the Jawhorse, when it is folded and to be lifted up to carry it, there is not enough clearance around the rear leg (the space between rear leg and the foot pedal while folded) to get your hand all the way around it for a good grip – you can only get your hand in past the first nuckle – so if you have big nuckles like I do, it might not be comfortable to carry while folded. Also, the foot pedal is not made with as thick a gage steel as the rest of the unit’s frame, so you have to be careful that you are pressing the pedal evenly, straight down with a flat foot, and not off to one side, or it might bend easily or get twisted.

Lastly, the owners manual is not very good and it is missing some very key components. It does not say anything as to whether replacement parts (such as the plastic ones mentioned above) are available through Rockwell. Also, there is not a detailed schematic drawing with parts numbers. Both of these problems may make some potential buyers wary that this product might be a throw-away if something gets broken. The design is not complicated, and since many folks who buy this are probably mechanically inclined, people want to have the option of ordering parts and fixing it themselves instead of shipping it in for repairs. This is very important for many buyers.

Lastly, I do not understand the mentality of making such a sturdy, well-designed and versatile product with tough, heavy-gage steel, and then skimping on a few key parts and making them plastic. How much money does the company really save by doing this? I bet that if the company did a survey, a vast majority of buyers would be willing to pay $20, $30, or even $50 more for this product, if these plastic parts were eliminated from the design and replaced with more durable materials. And I doubt that it would add much more weight than maybe 2 or 3 pounds to the unit. This product is a great investment and great piece of equipment, but for it to be built to “last a lifetime” as Rockwell claims, then get rid of the plastic, please !

By the way, on the sticker that is underneath the moveable jaw, it specifically says “Manufactured to Rockwell specifications in China”, in case you were wondering. Still, all of you should really buy one of these – I am glad I did, and so far I can live with the cons I mentioned above.

It’s fascinating reading all these pros and cons, then finding that the same comments have been posted word for word all over the web. You obviously have a bee in your bonnet, and it is a real shame that you feel that you have to attempt to badmouth a product when you in fact have not experienced the failures you’ve mentioned on your own unit.

If your background is engineering, you would have a better understanding of the range of materials choices, and where plastic is a valid materials choice, and where it isn’t.

I also found a reply from the design engineers, and have taken the liberty to copy it here, to provide a balanced response:

—————————————————–
A word from the designers.

As part of efforts to keep improving our products, we regularly read the reviews left by our customers, apart from anything else they can be a great source for new ideas.
Sometimes we think it is helpful to respond to customer concerns, hence this posting.
Barry of Hartsburg, Missouri is concerned by some plastic parts, I’d like to offer some reassurance.
The Jawhorse is constructed from a variety of materials, steel, cast aluminium, urethane rubber and, yes, plastic. Each material has it’s advantages and disadvantages, the choice is primarily down to suitability rather than cost.
The plastic parts are mostly in fact glass filled polyamide (nylon). This material offers excellent toughness, durability and a degree of self lubrication. This is why it’s great for parts which have to slide freely without squeaks and scrapes, like the lock switch and rear leg blocks. It’s also gives us much more freedom in the part shape than say a steel pressing (no sharp edges either). Best of all glass filled nylon is exceptionally strong.

During the development process, we loaded Jawhorses to destruction (don’t worry, it requires much more weight than anyone would ever be able to load onto it), in no case was it ever a plastic part which failed. We also subjected each moving part to literally tens of thousands of cycles to ensure they would not fail.

So go ahead, use your Jawhorse, it can take it!
—————————————————————

So for the rest, interested in the product, I stand by my claim – if you think this might be a good tool, do yourself a favour and just get one. There will ALWAYS be room for a JawHorse (or 3) in my workshop.

I’ll agree with Tim. To me and everyone else, no plastic parts, means no plastic parts period. Not subcategories, well no “structural plastic” parts etc. I also agree with the reviewer as well. I’d like to see the plastic redesigned with metal, I can handle putting some oil or lithium grease if need be to lubricate any metal on metal moving parts. Injection molds are probally easier, but nothing wears quite like metal. How many times has a plastic moving part flexed? quite a bit, and they wear and stress easier than metal. All metal, especially in a saw horse/vise tool to me seems very logical and more attractive as a comsumer.

About the only plastic I know of on the unit is the Rockwell sign, and the underside of the legs (which rests on the floor). Not sure what the spacer around the rear leg is. The cover by the on-off switch is probably plastic as well, but again, that is only for appearance and has nothing to do with the operation of the tool. The roller might or might not be – I don’t know, nor care- it was only included because apparently Americans will only buy something with a wheel added.

If your definition of “plastic” is anything non-metallic, or anything that looks like it might be plastic then you probably shouldn’t look too closely at your car.

I’m really not sure (yet). Will make some phone calls next week. However, the discussions I had a few weeks ago confirmed that the design was done in Melbourne (Australia), and I got the feeling that there was a possibility that construction was in Sydney. Good for the US market the way the dollar is going!

That is supported by Ian’s commnt above about his company being the manufacturer, as I have been in contact with Ian, and they are in Sydney, although that could have been the company’s management HQ.

Hoping to actually meet up with the company shortly, and get to look at some of the new prototypes.

China is the way of things at the moment – you can’t even buy a iPod without it being “Made in PRC”

Yes, that is unfortunate; but, I am an American retired Military (CW4) and a craftsman by trade (finish carpenter) and hate this country being sold by businesses to make a profit! I make a point to buy from American people making the best products on earth. Made in China never makes it to my shop! !!!

I totally understand both your interest, and reluctance with the Jaw Horse. It is often very hard to actually believe a lot of what you see on infomercials- often things look too good to be true.

We don’t get that infomercial here in Australia- the product isn’t even sold here (yet). However, the company is interested in me doing an independent review so are sending me one -due to arrive in the next week or so, and given how much interest there is, I will be putting it through it’s paces asap!

I will be very surprised if the Jaw Horse doesn’t live up to the hype though – I’ve owned Triton Superjaws for over 6 years now (and now have 3 at last count) and they are fundamentally the same tool, even designed by the same engineers, and they are invaluable in my workshop.

I have high hopes for the Jaw Horse- the Superjaws is an awesome tool, so as long as the material and build quality of the Jaw Horse is its equal (and based on the price point I’m guessing it will be), then I’m sure it will pass with flying colours. Now I’m just waiting on the phone call. Actually, it will be extra interesting, as I will be heading to their R&D plant (which is in Melbourne) to pick it up, and that is where the design engineers are based. They used to work for Triton, so apparently they know me (I’m an ex-president of a local Triton woodworking club), so I’ll get to pick their brains as well!

Now I just have to see if I can track down the US infomercial to see what is being shown, and said. Bet it is on You Tube! Wish we got these sorts of things on the Oz Infomercial network – they’d be worth watching if we did. All we get are rubbish vacuums, dusters, and skin products.

Stu, I just got one yesterday, and right out the box I was impressed with the heft and sturdiness of the Jaw Horse. I am an avid woodworker for over 30 years and have used various workmates and clamp devices not to mention many styles of saw horses both home built and purchased.
So far it performs as advertised, I have placed a 8ft treated 2×4 into the jaws and clamped it on the narrow side with more than half of the board protruding out and it held it firmly and allowed me to drill 1/2 inch holes for redheads to mount it to a concrete slab. I am in the process of expanding my laundry room and am using it (Jaw Horse) to hold and be my “second man/hand”.
Like I said it’s doing a fine job, if you are interested I could shoot some photos and email them to you as the project progresses.
Looking forward to hearing from you,

To Mike, Stuart, Adrian, Robert, Russ, Gigi, and whoever I might have missed:

I inserted a lengthy review on the Jawhorse – see above comment to Ian after his Oct. 15 comment (sorry, I accidentally inserted my comment in the wrong place, not chronologically, so I wanted you to make sure you saw it and did not miss it).

I agree with the review by Barry, one of the weakest links on this tool is the yellow plastic nut that tightens the third back leg. Mine came with the head of the bolt not aligned with the hexagonal hole and it looks likes after a while this will strip. But I’ll just replace it with a threaded rod and two wing nuts & washers. But mainly if you don’t tighten it down enough which is easy to do, the leg slides out of the pocket in the front so when you go to pick it up, the whole thing drops and you are left holding just a leg.

Or when you are opening the jawhorse up from the folded position, lock all the legs in place, grab the back leg to lift and the front edge, and whoops! out of the socket the leg comes and flails about. It’s not dangerous but just a pain. The front two legs lock in place so much better it’s sorry to see that the back one doesn’t as well.

My other comment is that the wood table accessory could be built a lot more beefy. I’d like much wider wood jaws to clamp stuff and a thicker table backed by a steel plate. And skip the two side alignment pipes. They just get in the way.

The front roller is useless for a home shop unless you are on a clean concrete surface. It’s much easier to just pick the thing up and carry it. You could build a hand grab foot for the back post but since I’m not rolling it anyway that’s ok.

I bought some 2 inch angle iron and with the support clamps that came with the plywood jaw (a great addition.) Made my own miter box table. I posted the photos up on Amazon.com with the miterbox reviews. I also did a video review of the log jaws. (I like them too.)

I have been thinking about how to build my own wood table. I’m thinking some 3″ angle iron and two boards for the top, and two facing each other. Drill the angle iron and the facing boards, and clamp them to the jawhorse jaws, and bolt the table top to the top of the angle iron. Probably add some sort of side braces as well of more angle iron going perpendicular to the front face bits with the flat spot on top. I’ll have to inset the top boards with the front edge angle iron but the whole rig should be pretty stiff when I’m done. Probably the steel frame should be all welded and heat treated and painted when done.

It’s just that if I were a Jawhorse design engineer, I’d do that rather than have those side support rods on the current wood bench top.

On more comment, since I’m hoping Ian reads these reviews, I used my jawhorse out in the yard to cut up logs and the back leg sinks into the dirt too easily. I live in the PNW and with all the rain we get the ground is pretty soft. The front legs don’t have this issue at all. I’m not sure how to fix this because the end of the back leg seats into the body of the jawhorse and a big wide foot would make that harder to do, unless you added a “J” latch catch (invert the “J”) that grabbed the foot.

It’s not a big deal, I just used some old wood lying around under the back foot. And if you were thinking about not buying it, this is not a good reason.

BTW, I bought my Jawhorse on the strength of Stu’s review. Amazon does sell the “Super Jaws” and the customer reviews while good, are not as good as the Jawhorse ones. And then the “Super Jaws” home site mentions a super duper Super Jaws, but no photo on the site, and I finally found a photo of it from some tool show, but haven’t seen anyone selling one, even in England. (It has a more traditional wood workers vise on a 4 legged support system.)

Hi Stu!
One more thing! If you look at the Jawhorse review on Amazon, I posted a photo of me clamping a door. The issue is that the foot mechanism has wide bit, and the jaw is not very wide in comparison to the door. The first time I tried it, I nearly clamped the door with the foot brace all the way up against it, which would have made it an issue for releasing the clamp. But two things went my way. First, the door being clamped was cr*p and being tossed, so I could have just cut it apart. Second, I noticed as I brought my foot down that this might be an issue as my toe hit the door, so I backed it off and slid the door left an inch which gave me clearance.

This issue brought up the why aren’t the jaws a bit wider question, and that made me realize I just need to make some wider wood faced jaws to bolt on like the other accessory jaws do. I have them on my wood working bench clamps so it’s not an issue to make some.

And that the jaws are already wider than the Super Jaws which made me even happier that I went with this tool.

I want to buythe LOG JAW component as well as the jaw horse (Part # RK 9000). Mitre10 store rang Rockwell, presumably in Australia, and was told (a) not available here and (b) ” still in development”.
Not very encouraging.

Anyone know if the log jaw IS available here or if it’s on the way or has to be ordered from USA/Canada

Actually that is an interesting question – in the USA, the Rockwell JawHorse (Worx Pro JawHorse in Australia) certainly does have a log jaw available – it is even in my “Store” linked through to Rockler in the USA.

However, the JawHorse Mitre 10 sells (the Australian Rockwell JawHorse) is a smaller version, and was developed a lot later, so the accessories are still (presumably based on what you were saying) in progress. This is NOT the RK9000!

Now my question would be, not having actually seen one in the flesh so to speak, is whether the holes in the Oz Rockwell JawHorse have the same distance between centres as the SuperJaws. If so, the Superjaws’ log jaws would fit (or at worst, drill some new holes in the Log Jaws) Now getting hold of them may be just as tricky as getting hold of the yet to be finished Oz Rockwell ones!

Ordering the jaws from OS has one major problem – the JawHorse currently being sold in Mitre 10 is not sold overseas, and so it is questionable (and unlikely) that the current log jaws available over there will fit Mitre 10s Jaw Horse anyway.

Oh, and one other thing – the RK9000, which is (in Oz) the Work Professional JawHorse is not sold in Australia yet afaik, so Mitre 10 are getting their wires (and their accessories) mixed up.

Can you tell me if JawHorse accessories (specifically the Miter Table, Work Table, Welding Jaw and Plywood Jaw) will work with Triton’s SuperJaw? I have a SuperJaw which I love but would like to utilize some of the accessories made by Rockwell. I’ve looked for an answer to my question in many places I hope you can help me. Thanks.

Not sure if the infomercial is still running, but given that there is still some comments coming in referring to it, I guess it is.

If you are looking and wondering, I would still give it a full recommendation – they are an excellent tool, well made, properly engineered from both a design and a materials perspective.

Don’t get too hung up on a couple of nay-sayers – one has been carrying a grudge after having his ‘expert’ opinion ignored by Rockwell.

As to plastic components – simply – none where it matters. Unless you worry about the Rockwell badge itself being plastic 😉

Other than a few self-inflicted paint chips (I have, and do use the JawHorse as an anvil on occasion) glue drips, timber stain stains, (this is a workhorse in my workshop) mine is still operating as good as new.

Can anyone tell me if it should sit level? It seems that the third leg (the single leg away from the foot pedel) is about 14/” to 1/2″ short and therefore does not sit level (on the long side).

I inserted the leg as instructed and tightened it but it’s just not level. Contacted Rockwell about five times by phone at diffirent numbers and just got the runaround. Most of the “customer service” reps that answered the phonoe when I call for technical support did not even know what a Jawhorse was. They told me to contact Positech who I found oout after being but on hold for a while only take the orders and ship the product. I called technical support (as stated on the answering message) again and spoke to another “customer no-service” rep who had never seen a Jawhorse told me to call a service centre to repair the product if it was defective, (remember I just wanted to know if the Rockwell Jawhorse should sit level or did I have a unit that was problematic). I called the “Authorized Rockwell Service Centre”, they told me the don’t have use, service or even seen a Rockwell Jawhorse. I called another number which got me to the US and after being on hold for a period of time I spoke to another customer service rep who ended up giving me another number to call. I didn’t say phone number because after hanging up with the customer no-service rep I found out the number he game me is a fax number. Nice trick Rockwell. Not impressed.

I’m not done. I figured OK I’ll send an email to Rockwell via the Rockwell website. So I did. The reply I received is as follows:

“Thank you for your email.

We are experiencing significantly higher than normal email volume and anticipate a delayed response to all emails received until further notice. We apologize for the inconvenience this causes. If you need immediate assistance, please call our customer service line Monday through Friday from 8am to 8pm EST.

Thank you for choosing Rockwell and Worx. We appreciate your business.”

I’m seriously thinking about of returning the product for these reasons alone and told them I would do so if I didn’t get a response.

Thank you Stuart. I realise the odds of one leg being manufactured shorter than the others are slim (I hope). but I imagine it could happen. I’d be interested in hearing from Rockwell directly to see if others have the same issue. Are you from Rockwell?

When you say “If that slot is too long” do you think it could be too long? I think there’s more of a chance that the leg is too short then the slot being too long but who knows. I realise I could not push the leg all the way into the slot but that takes some extra setup and handling time and as you say yours is level so they should all be level.

The length of the leg is actually irrelevant, compared to the position of the slot. And no, I don’t work for Rockwell, or any woodwork supplier. For the credibility of my site, I see it important to be independent of all companies.

Thanks for replying again. I didn’t realise you were the Stuart in Stu. It might have been good if you did work for Rockwell but of course I understand why you don’t.

The length of the leg on my Jawhorse is 27 inches compared to your 27 3/4″. I now see what you meant when you referred to the slot. I didn;t have the unit in front of me when I sent the message and thought you meant the depth of the space where the leg gets pushed into.

The bottom of the slot to the bottom tip of the leg is 23 5/8″ the same length as yours. If you loosen the big yellow knob as much as possible and look inside the locking mechanism you’ll see that the bottom of the slot does not reach the bolt. Well it doesn’t on mine. The leg rests at the very back of the space inside the Jawhorse. I think the slot is there to guide or keep the leg in place when sliding it in and out of possition.

The bottom line is that the leg on my unit is shorter and therefore does not sit level when setup.
I would send you photos to prove my findings but I can’t do so using the message system. If you need to see to believe I can do so by direct email just let me know. I will likely send photos to Rockwell but I’m not sure if they’ll care.

I realy appreciate your help and thank you again for sending me the measurements of the leg.

Now my next problem will be getting a hold of Rockwell to have them send me a new leg (at the very least)

I’m certain that you are correct – what I’m thinking though is send me photos of the unit assembled, showing the way it doesn’t sit flat, and I’ll send it to the designers of the JawHorse. (The unit may be manufactured in China, but it was invented in Melbourne, Australia)

I don’t work for Rockwell, Positec etc, but because of this website, I have developed contacts everywhere!